2010 Minerva Winter Carnival a success

MINERVA - All the planning and preparation for the Minerva Winter Carnival paid off last weekend. For several months, interested individuals and organizations in Minerva met, planned for, and organized what turned out to be a fine winter carnival.

Despite the lack of fresh snow which caused some scheduled activities to be cancelled, there was excellent ice for many other activities. The weather turned out to be perfect for the ice fishing tournament on the 18 inch-thick ice of Minerva Lake. About 40 ice fishing fans registered for the chance to nail the biggest fish. Thanks to Tim Kellogg and Steve McNally for organizing this event.

Also on the ice, was a 200-meter speed skating oval, planned and placed by Bill Brannon, which became a weekend-favorite.

The rededication of the town's snowshoe and cross-country ski trails took place at the Minerva warming hut, with town Supervisor Sue Montgomery Corey recognizing the volunteers and staff who have contributed to making the trails, skating rink and warming hut a reality over the years.

The weekend continued with a snowshoe race along with the Bill Barnes Snowshoe Challenge starting from the warming hut. A kids hockey shoot-out took place at the skating rink.

A manageable yet enthusiastic crowd of young contestants vied for bragging rights for winning the jello-eating contest, hosted by the Minerva Historical Society - this was messy, great fun.

The MCS Class of 2011 Tricky-tray fundraiser was a great success, with many winners. The MCS Alumni Association cookie walk provided a fine assortment of cookies and other delights for inexpensive prices.

The following lists various winners along with their medals and other recognitions earned during the Carnival:

Snowshoe Race

Age 14 & under

Avery Bayse - Gold

Ages 15 - 18

Chirayu Ueawiriyanukun ("Chi") - Silver

Tatsuki Miyazato - Gold

Ages 19 and up

Jack Corey - Bronze

Mike Corey - Silver

Jim Hanley - Gold

Special Short Course Award

Peter Corey - Gold

Overall Fastest

Jim Hanley - Gold

Bill Barnes Snowshoe Challenge

Bill Barnes/Most Mature

Bob Morrison - Bronze

Fastest

Sam Kelly - Silver

Overall Winner (closest to mystery time)

Chirayu Ueawiriyanukun ("Chi") - Gold

Great Minerva Hockey Shoot-out

Under 10

(Tie) Kaleb Davie & Henry Gelber - Gold

Ages 10 -14

Patrick Kushi - Bronze

Alex Ruzbacki - Silver

Danny Dunbar - Gold

Ages 15-18

Tatsuki Miyazato - Bronze

Federico Lopez - Silver

Pete Corey - gold

Sleeping Giants Candy Guessing Contest

M & Ms: Massena Green

Peanut M & Ms: Shasti Conlon

Hershey's Kisses: Marie O'Brien

Minerva Historical Society Jello-eating Contest

Conner Davie

Paige Warrington

MSO Door Prizes

Connie Cook

Kaleb Davie

Sue Montgomery Corey

Note: Winners of the day's Spontaneous Combustion competition will be announced in next week's News-Enterprise.

Thanks to all the interested organizations and individuals who put in so much time planning, organizing and implementing what turned out to be a terrific Minerva Winter Carnival experience. Thanks to Minerva Central School staff for all their help, especially to Bob Sherwood. Thanks to The Town of Minerva Parks & Recreation staff for the excellent job they've done keeping the skating rink in great shape and maintaining the trails, and a general thanks to the Minerva Town Board for its support as folks in town worked to resurrect the Minerva Winter Carnival this year. Think snow for the 2011 carnival.